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Observations of a New NA Captain


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I just thought I would share some  initial observations on the game.  I started playing on Friday and have enjoyed the testing very much so far.

 

Open sea travel.  I like it way better than POTBS.  The speed might need increased as it can take a very long time to get places.  This could be a turn off to many

 

NPC's  and areas for specific ranks- I spend a lot of time trying to find level suitable npcs to hit.  Might need to increase the spawn rates at least for lower ranks.

 

NPC battles-Initially our group was hitting single or dual mobs and were pretty much left alone.  One of us is now J Lt or maybe a rank higher in a Navy Brig and we have noticed that the opposing side will have NPC's just show up either at the start of the battle or shortly after.  Is this intended?  Is this a bug?

 

NPC Intelligence is excellent!  Far far more challenging than POTBS ever was.

 

Ship combat is hard at least at low levels with very few upgrades.  Ships will not just run out with you so you really have to sail a lot.  This is good. 

 

Sail shot-Very difficult to demast ships.

 

NPC sailing characteristics-NPC's will pop repairs.  I am not sure I like this.  I understand the reality factor but there is a fine line between good game play and feeling like my time is being wasted.

 

NPC and Battle experience and rewards-Is there a good explanation on how this works?  It appears that the more damage you do the more exp and gold you get.  This seems to devalue the efforts of a ship that is assigned to demast.  Also is there a explanation on how loot is distributed in a group?

 

It appears that even though you do not have dock space in a harbor that you do get free?  for now warehouse space.

 

What does the red aiming line signify?  A 100 m or yard shot or just an aiming guide.

 

Suggestion:  Hash marks above and below the red line which would allow betting aiming for different shots.

 

NPC sailing dynamics.  Do low level NPC's have ship upgrades?  NPC ships seem to go through the wind much much easier than player ships and they have much better handling, including stopping.

 

Interior hull structure-There appears to be an unknown quantity of structure that remains after armor is removed.  Some hints on sinking mechanics would be welcomed.  Some ships will be sailing along and just sink for no apparent reason, I assume this was caused by a leak.  

 

Leaks and other ship damage.   I would like to see a red text warning come up on serious damage like this.  Love the pumping mechanism and leaks!  Great idea!

 

More later.   Love where the game is!  Thanks very much!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Distance is in meters I think. The aiming line is just a no-frills reticle. You have to do a bit of guess work to determine where your shots will land. the "R" key affects the grouping of your shots and you can play with it to try to get more shots to land on the same spot. I haven't quite learned what all those options do. I usually just set it for 100 meters or 250 meters.

 

Try using spacebar to fire a shot or 2 and see where it lands. If you're on target, left click to fire off all of your remaining cannons.

 

NPC will only repair once. Humans can use repairs 3 times.

Edited by ajffighter86
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Experience and gold are based on damage. The more damage done the more exp you get, so an AI that repairs is one that gives you more. Loot drops go to the person that sinks the ship, so if you're in a group that assigns people to chain/demast then perhaps switching off who does what is a good idea.

 

Demasting is good but not required to sink ships, simply chaining sails down will usually slow the low level AI enough to make them easy prey.

 

Early on travel times are a thing for sure, but as you open outposts in those far flung ports you can teleport once every 8 hours. After you've been playing for awhile the world will seem much smaller.

 

If you're taking on water it shows in your compass rosette as a rising light blue area. Number of leaks is indicated in the area that shows hull/sail/pump/magazine/leaks condition. If you're taking on water then go to survival mode. This will automatically plug leaks and pump water out over time.

 

All this and more can be found in the guides section. There are a number of them and all are helpful.

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Thanks for the welcome!

 

I would suggest that less experienced npc ships use only the auto setting for sailing.  The AI is probably going to be far better are manual sailing than a new player.  It is something I have yet to try but I have seen how it allows ships to turn far more effectively than not using manual.

 

I hope that tutorials are in the works for new players?  I could use one on manual sailing.  Yes there are some decent videos and it probably takes some practice but understanding the dynamics would go a long way to helping new captains.

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